News
Many Still Missing After Tragic Boat Capsize on Way to Goronyo Market in Sokoto
A quiet Sunday journey turned into a heartbreaking disaster in Sokoto State on August 17, 2025, when a boat carrying more than fifty passengers capsized on its way to the busy Goronyo Market.
According to officials, only about ten people have been rescued, while over forty others remain missing. Families and local communities are still waiting anxiously as emergency workers and volunteers comb through the waters in search of survivors.
Rescue efforts are being led by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), working with Sokoto State officials and local divers. They say the search has been tough because of the heavy rains and strong currents that often come with the season.
Accidents like this are sadly common in riverine parts of Nigeria. Many boats are often overcrowded, poorly maintained, and rarely have enough life jackets. With swollen rivers during the rainy season, the risks become even greater.
Just weeks ago, a similar tragedy struck Niger State where a boat carrying close to a hundred people capsized, with several dead and many missing. Sokoto itself has seen multiple incidents in recent years, including accidents that claimed the lives of farmers and traders.
The state government has tried to respond by purchasing new boats, life jackets, and flood relief materials, but poor enforcement of safety rules still leaves passengers vulnerable.
TV anchor Rufai Oseni makes headlines as he speaks on fuel subsidy in Nigeria. He shared that Nigeria can have fuel subsidy without the long queues at filling stations.
“When we were still paying subsidies, there were no long queues. We were subsidising. So you can still have a subsidy regime going on, and there will be no long queues because production was close by. Dangote had it. That’s just it. That argument also falls flat.
“The biggest beneficiaries of subsidy are not Nigerians. They are crony capitalists that have big infrastructure, and they do contracts. They have been the biggest beneficiaries of the subsidy,” he said.
Lagos State Governor, Sanwo-Olu, speaks to those in the electricity sector about the usual blackouts in the state.
He speaks on ways things can change in the state and how electricity can be provided.
“We need to drop corporate egos, abandon long-standing excuses, and confront the harsh realities obstructing progress in the power sector.”
“We, state governments, used to give excuses that everything is centralised, so the Federal Government has unbundled it now. What have we done in a year and a half?” Sanwo-Olu asked.
“We take two steps forward, we go five steps backward,” he said.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has declared Thursday, August 20, a work-free day for public servants in the state to mark the Isese Festival.
Speaking on the celebration, he said “Ìṣẹ̀ṣe is not a relic. It is a living expression of our traditions and a celebration of Yoruba spirituality as an important part of Nigeria’s cultural and religious landscape,” he said.
He added “When the drums sound in Lagos on Thursday, they answer drums in Havana, in Salvador, in Port of Spain. Fifty-five million people and counting. Lagos is not observing a local holiday. Lagos is standing at the centre of a global heritage,” Aregbe said.
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